The Ransom Dilemma
The refusal to pay ransoms to terrorists can seem callous, but in truth it is the only ethical policy. Governments that pay ransoms to groups like the Islamic State are saving the lives of some of their citizens, but putting the remainder of their citizens – and others – at greater risk.
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PRINCETON – Anyone who does not share the ideology of the so-called “Islamic State” in Iraq and Syria is likely to agree that it is wrong for the group’s adherents to behead some of those they have held hostage. Much more controversial, however, are the secret decisions by European governments to pay such groups ransoms for the release of their nationals.